Backup Infrastructure Sizing Using Snapshot Slice Cardinality
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Solution Overview
Problem
During the deployment and configuration phase of a backup workload, users are often unaware of the expected backup throughput, the number of compute nodes required for optimal throughput, and the approximate backup completion time for full and incremental backups, leading to inefficiencies in data protection solutions.
Innovation Solution
An automated environment sizing service is employed to estimate and tune the underlying infrastructure for optimal backup operations by creating asset snapshots, partitioning the data into slices, and computing the required number of proxy nodes based on the cardinality of these slices to perform backup operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If automated environment sizing service creates asset snapshots and partitions data into slices, then backup throughput estimation accuracy is improved, but infrastructure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the asset snapshot data into multiple slices (e.g., 100 slices) to enable parallel processing and accurate throughput estimation. This segmentation allows the system to measure backup performance across multiple concurrent operations, improving measurement accuracy without requiring a single monolithic complex system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by creating asset snapshots and partitioning data before actual backup operations. This preliminary preparation enables the automated sizing service to estimate backup throughput and determine optimal infrastructure configuration in advance, improving estimation accuracy while keeping the actual backup process simple.
2Productivity
If the system computes and provides sizing responses with optimal proxy node counts, then backup operation efficiency is improved, but time required for infrastructure deployment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The automated environment sizing service performs preliminary computations to determine optimal proxy node counts and infrastructure configurations before backup operations begin. By calculating the required number of proxy nodes (e.g., determining that 4 proxy nodes are needed for optimal throughput) in advance, the system eliminates trial-and-error deployment and reduces infrastructure setup time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides sizing responses with recommended infrastructure configurations based on measured backup throughput. This feedback mechanism allows users to immediately implement the optimal configuration without needing to experiment with different node counts, thereby improving backup efficiency while reducing deployment time through informed decision-making.
3Device complexity
If manual configuration of backup infrastructure is performed, then infrastructure complexity is reduced, but backup throughput and completion time estimation accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The automated environment sizing service performs self-service by automatically creating asset snapshots, partitioning data into slices, measuring backup throughput, and determining optimal infrastructure configurations. This automation eliminates the need for manual configuration while providing accurate estimation of backup completion times (e.g., estimating that a full backup will complete in approximately 4 hours), thereby improving measurement precision without increasing operational complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for sizing backup infrastructure. The method includes: receiving a sizing request including an asset protection policy covering an asset of the backup infrastructure, the asset protection policy at least specifying the asset; based on receiving the sizing request: creating an asset snapshot of the asset; mounting the asset snapshot to obtain a mounted asset snapshot through which asset snapshot data of the asset snapshot is accessible; partitioning the asset snapshot data into a plurality of asset snapshot data slices; computing, at least based on a cardinality of the plurality of asset snapshot data slices, a number of proxy nodes of the backup infrastructure required to collectively perform a prospective backup operation entailing the asset snapshot data; and providing, in reply to the sizing request, a sizing response at least specifying the number of proxy nodes required to collectively perform the prospective backup operation.